A publication of Birth Works, Inc.  Volume II, Issue 1  Feb 21, 2001

Welcome to the Birth Works E News. This is a forum for you to get to know us better and read about new and exciting things going on at Birth Works.

Birth Works embodies the philosophy of developing a woman's self confidence, trust and faith in her ability to give birth. It is the goal of our Childbirth classes and Doula services as well as our Childbirth Educator and Doula certification programs to promote safe and loving birth experiences through education, introspection and confident action. 

In This Issue.......

• for the mind...Helping Women Believe in Birth: Introducing our newest video Birth Day
• for the body ...Breathing in labor and life: Bringing conscious awareness to our breathing
• for the spirit...Believe you are spirit, believe you are love....
• Schedule of upcoming 2001 Educator and Doula Training Workshops!
• Announcements
• Support our Sponsors! Advertise online with Midwifery Today's Birth Market

Birth Works Feature Articles

...for the mind

Helping Women Believe in Birth: Birth Day One of the most powerful ways to help women and their partners establish a sense of faith and trust in birth is to provide images that help them associate birth with joy, safety and love. It is few of us that have the opportunity to observe first hand labor and birth as a normal and loving part of a family's life cycle. Instead, expectant parents today enter their prenatal experience with a lifetime of images from the media that diminish birth as a traumatic event that cannot proceed safely without machines or needles. These belief systems play a powerful role in the choices couples will make about their upcoming birth and the ability of a woman to believe in herself and the wisdom of birth. It has long been the challenge of childbirth professionals to find images that counteract the current culture of fear and distrust.

The film Birth Day is a beautiful record of the birth of midwife, Naoli Vinaver Lopez's third child. Set in the lush countryside of Xalapa, Mexico, Naoli flows through early labor with a sense of celebration, "an event to be shared" with her family. We watch as labor progresses and Naoli and her husband rhythmically walk arm in arm looking into each other's eyes. We see Naoli's contractions grow in intensity and this intensity is matched by an ever heightening sense of love and trust. Their daughter is born in water, with the loving hands of her parents bringing her to the surface to be welcomed by her brothers. Naoli shares her wisdom as a birthing woman and midwife throughout the film. "Women giving birth...if you give them space they will know exactly what to do. Women have insight, the body that has made this baby will know exactly how to get it out...how to move, exactly when to push, how to push".

We are pleased to announce that Birth Day is now available through our online store. For a limited time only we are offering a special package deal. Order the videos Birth Day AND Breast is Best BEFORE May 1, 2001, and SAVE $10. What a great way to begin building a wonderful and inspiring library of birth and breastfeeding videos or add to your collection! http://www.birthworks.org/store.phtml. To order by phone, call toll free 1-888-TO-BIRTH. Remember, Birth Works members are always entitled to a 10% discount on all products!

...for the body

Breathing in Labor and Life- Deep breathing quiets the body and the mind. When a woman is in labor, she is better able to follow the body knowledge that knows how to give birth, if her mind is quiet and her body is relaxed. Deep breathing is very different from patterned breathing. Patterned breathing stimulates the neocortex or thinking brain and can actually serve as a "brake" to labor. It stimulates the mind, trying to decide should I breathe this way, or that way and so the mind is thinking rather than being quiet. Slow, deep breathing, on the other hand, helps the body to relax, and contractions in labor can then be more efficient in their work. If you were ever with a woman in labor, you may have heard her ask people to be quiet while she is working through a contraction.

In Birth Works childbirth education classes, we work with expectant parents to help increase awareness and movement of breath down into the pelvis explaining that breathing a baby out is more gentle than forceful pushing. Breathing down into the pelvis is the key to physically letting go in labor. Fear is the cause of most shallow breathing. A woman who is able to express her fears, will be able to breathe more deeply. A primal fear of most humans is that of being abandoned in a time of need. The presence of a doula or birth companion can help a laboring woman to feel safe. Feeling safe leads to relaxation which also slows and deepens the breath.

To better understand the concept of deep breathing, try this exercise called Lateral Costal Expansion. It can help you to become aware of just how deeply you are breathing. Place your hands over your lower rib cage on both sides. Now, breathe out slowly through pursed lips, and at the same time gently apply pressure in on your rib cage until the breath is finished. Now, while keeping the gentle pressure on your rib cage, slowly breathe in, pushing out against your hands while inhaling deeply. Then breathe out again, gently pressing in again on the lower rib cage. Your lower lung fields are located under the lower ribs. As you practice this exercise, observe whether you are expanding equally on both sides, or is one side expanding more than the other? Also note if you are drawing your shoulders up as you inhale. If so, you are using your accessory muscles for breathing and you are not breathing as deeply. If you find one side not expanding as well as the other, lie on your side and place your hand over your lower rib cage and do the exercise in that position.

Practicing slow deep breathing in our daily lives, helps us move through the day with less anxiety and we can think more clearly. If a woman is more aware of her breathing during pregnancy, then when in labor, slow deep breathing will come more naturally to her, without her even having to think about it. She will welcome each contraction with her body relaxed, knowing the contractions are helping her cervix to open so her baby can be born.

These concepts and many others related to living life with conscious awareness are taught in Birth Works Childbirth Education classes around the country. Visit http://www.birthworks.org/directory.phtml for a Certified Birth Works Educator in your area. Or, Call 1-888-TO-BIRTH for national and international referrals.

...for the spirit

Believe
And believe you are spirit, Believe you are love
Believe there's a reason, to know who you are

We remember the births of our children forever. For some women these memories are a mixed bag of emotions, both joyful and sad when regrets and guilt linger...if only I had been smarter about birth, if only I chosen a different care provider or place to have my baby...if only ...it would have all been different. In order for us to move on in life and release ourselves from feelings of guilt or blame and anger, we must learn to accept that we do the very best we can with each of our labors and births. All our experiences, good and not so good, are valid and can serve a purpose in helping us to learn more about ourselves, our world and prepare us to meet future challenges. When we come from our hearts in preparing for birth, we can feel at peace knowing that we will do our best for ourselves, the birth of our children, and the future of our families.

The above lyrics are from the song "Believe" by Cathy Daub, Founder and President of Birth Works, Inc. "Believe" is a collection of inspirational songs, excellent for use in childbirth classes and for personal listening pleasure. To order your CD or cassette visit http://www.birthworks.org/store.phtml or call 1-888-TO-BIRTH.

Upcoming 2001 Birth Works Training Workshops

To become a Birth Works Educator or Doula Trainee and register for one of our training workshops: email info@birthworks.org or write to us at Birth Works, Inc. PO Box 2045 Medford, NJ 08055. Call us at 1-888-TO-BIRTH.

Announcements - Elizabeth Bruce, Author and CCE for Birth Works, is writing a book about preventing episiotomies and tearing. If you have a personal story you would like to share, please send it to her at wals01@cs.com. She especially needs "horror stories" about non-consenting episiotomies and "success stories" about intact births after episiotomy or tearing. From midwives and doulas: "What is the number-one tip for giving birth intact, in your opinion?" Also, "Is stitching always necessary?"

Birth Works is in the process of revising and updating our Birth Works Childbirth Educator Manual. Our teaching manual is used by certified Birth Works educators to assist and inspire them in the facilitation of Birth Works classes. Our new state of the art manual will provide our educators with the latest in Birth Works facilitation techniques and experiential activities as well as updated information on medical technology, nutrition, postpartum adjustment, and the physiology of labor based on the most current research and writing. We welcome and appreciate your support of this effort. Your donation will allow you or your organization to be listed in our new manual. Levels of giving are as follows:
Friend $25
Supporter $50
Patron $100+
Sponsor $500+
Platinum Sponsorship $1000+
To become a sponsor please send your donation (please indicate exactly how you would like to be listed in the manual) to Birth Works, Inc. PO Box 2045 Medford, NJ 08055. For more information call us at 1-888-TO-BIRTH. Birth Works, Inc. is a non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible.

Sponsors-Midwifery Today is proud to introduce the Birth Market, our online Mother/Baby/Environment-Friendly Product and Services Directory. Check us out! Shop for wonderful birth-related products at the Birth Market or find a birth practitioner. Do you have a product or service to sell?  Are you a midwife, doula, or other birth practitioner? Become a part of the Birth Market today! http://www.birthmarket.com/

Birth Works E News has been written to provide information on Birth Works, Inc. programs and general information about pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. The information provided is not intended as a substitute for professional consultation with a childbirth educator, lactation consultant, doula, midwife, or physician. Hope you enjoyed this edition of Birth Works E News. Pass Birth Works E News on to your friends and colleagues--it's free! To subscribe to the next FREE Birth Works E-News, send your name and email address to enews@birthworks.org To stop receiving this newsletter: Send the email address you received it under to: unsub@birthworks.org and write unsubscribe in the subject box.